Robberson students receive gifts on Dec. 23
Dec. 22, 2008
Robberson Elementary School students will travel to Praise Assembly Church on Tuesday, Dec. 23, for their annual holiday party and gift give-away. Volunteers from Praise Assembly and Broadway Baptist Church will provide transportation. The event begins at 1 p.m.
Praise Assembly members have received gift information on the students – including their first name, gender and grade level. The information was placed on a “giving tree” in the church and promoted during services. Gifts purchased by church members will be passed out during the party at 3535 N. Glenstone Ave.
Heating issues being addressed in several schools
Dec. 22, 2008
Maintenance employees were busily working this morning to resolve heating issues in 13 Springfield school buildings. While most lacked heat in just a few classrooms, Mann Elementary School, 3745 S. Broadway Ave., had more widespread concerns.
Mann is heated by two systems. The boiler which heats the northeast end of the building ruptured and will have to be replaced. While crews work to resolve the problem, Mann staff is adapting schedules and classroom assignments to ensure students are in warm areas of the building.
“We considered several options to address the situation and decided the best approach was to try and minimize disruptions for the students,” explained Ben Hackenwerth, executive director for elementary education. “We will keep them at Mann and move them to areas of the building which do have heat.”
The all-purpose room and some specialty classrooms currently have heat so some students will be moved into these spaces. “Staff is being very flexible and creative in their scheduling to ensure this disrupts the learning process as little as possible,” Hackenwerth said.
It is expected that parts of the building will still be without heat Tuesday so parents are reminded to dress students in warm clothing. Wearing layers of clothing, such as a T-shirt under a sweatshirt and a warm coat for an outer layer will allow students to adapt in the event temperatures fluctuate. Hats, gloves and warm socks and shoes are also important.
Other schools experiencing heating issues Monday include: Boyd, Fremont, Gray, Jeffries and Westport elementary schools, Wilson’s Creek 5-6 School, Pepperdine School, Pleasant View School, Shady Dell Early Childhood Center and Central, Glendale and Parkview high schools. It is anticipated all issues at these sites will be resolved by the end of the day Monday.
District attendance strong in first three months of school year
Dec. 17, 2008
Springfield Public Schools’ student attendance for the first three months of the year is the highest it has been in 21 years during that period, according to newly released district information.
Becky Morgan, district attendance services coordinator, attributes this year’s initial attendance success to continuing public awareness and buy-in of the community BN SCHL campaign, creative initiatives in schools, encouragement from teachers and parents, and students realizing the importance of regular attendance.
From the first day of school through November, district average daily student attendance was 95.33 percent. That is the second highest attendance mark during the first three months of the year since 1988.
A key objective under the district’s strategic plan is for school attendance to average 95 percent for the year. That objective was last met in 1989.
“As we approach some our most challenging months, January, February, and March, we will work to keep attendance enthusiasm high in our community,” Morgan said. “Together I know we can make this school year the best in attendance in a long time.”
Couple gives $100,000 to special education department
Dec. 16, 2008
John and Crystal Beuerlein will present the final $25,000 of a $100,000 gift to the Springfield Public Schools’ Special Education Department at 8:15 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19, at Kraft Administrative Center, 940 N. Jefferson Ave.
John grew up in Springfield and is a general partner at Edward Jones in St. Louis. His sister, Jennifer Beuerlein, is Springfield Public Schools’ Assistant Director of Special Education.
The Beuerleins began their $100,000 donation to the department last summer. The money has been used to create a gold medal fund to purchase classroom and learning supplies for hundreds of district special education students.
“John and Crystal are very generous people,” Jennifer Beuerlein said. “They believe in what they do for people with special education needs.”
HTV story to air nationally on Channel One
Dec. 16, 2008
A story by Hillcrest High School’s “HTV Magazine” will air nationally on the Channel One Network Wednesday, Dec. 17. The story, “Dangerous Decision," is about seat belt safety.
Channel One, promoted as the pre-eminent news and public affairs content provider to teens, averages six million teenage viewers daily. It airs at four of five Springfield public high schools. HTV was asked to produce the segment as part of the network's effort this school year to raise awareness about teen driving issues. HTV will produce another segment next semester.
Wednesday’s piece was produced by Hillcrest seniors Rob Lyons and Curtis Thomas. It features the story of a Pierce City girl who was thrown from her passenger seat on homecoming night two years ago - she was not wearing a seat belt. She survived and talked to HTV about the serious injuries she suffered and the rehabilitation she has endured.
Principal named for new southwest elementary school
Dec. 10, 2008
Chris Mendel has been selected as the principal for the new southwest elementary school which will open in August 2009. The Springfield school board approved her appointment during its executive session last night.
The new southwest elementary school is being constructed to relieve crowding at Wanda Gray and McBride elementary schools. Construction of the 58,980-square-footschool building, which will serve students in grades K-4, is funded by the 2006 bond initiative.
Mendel currently serves as principal of Gray Elementary School. She joined SPS in 1990, teaching at both McGregor Elementary School and Carver Middle School before leaving to work for the Lee’s Summit School District as a sixth-grade teacher and administrative substitute from 1997 to 1999. She returned to SPS where she was appointed assistant principal at Jarrett Middle School. In 2001, Mendel was named principal of Sherwood Elementary School, where she served for four years.
Mendel will assume her new duties Jan. 5, 2009. In the next few months she will hire staff for the new school, coordinate with contractors on completion of the project and engage the new school community.
Angie Carder will replace Mendel as principal atGray Elementary School. Currently serving as administrative services liaison, she began her teaching career with SPSas an elementary teacher in 1994, eventually working at Doling, Twain, and McBride elementary schools. In 2006, she was appointed assistant to the principal atGray and Disney elementary schools.
Cherie Norman, a teacher atGray Elementary School, will fill the administrative services liaison vacancy left by Carder. She has taught at Gray 15 years and served as an elementary principal for summer school in 2007 and coordinator of extended learning in 2008.
Central's 'Poetry Out Loud' competition is Dec. 11
Dec. 9, 2008
Central High School’s third annual Poetry Out Loud competition is set for 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, at the Randy Bacon Studio and Art Gallery, 800 W. College St.
In Poetry Out Loud, communication and art collide as students from nine area high schools create wonderful poetry performances. One winner will advance to the southwest regional Feb. 10 at the Creamery Arts Center in Jordan Valley Park. The regional winner advances to the state competition in March.
Last year’s state winner, Aryiel Everett, will attend Thursday’s event as a spectator. A graduate last year from Park Hill South High School, Aryiel now attends Missouri State University. Central senior Vernon Meidlinger-Chin, who finished second in state last year, will compete on Thursday.
Other schools competing this year are: Branson, Cabool, Lakeland, Lebanon, Lutie, Stockton, Waynesville and Willow Springs.
Glendale cheerleaders qualify for nationals
Dec. 9, 2008
Glendale High School Falcon cheerleaders qualified for the Universal Cheerleaders Association National Competition Feb. 6-9 at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., after a strong showing at the Gateway Regional and National Qualifier on Dec. 6.
The Falcon freshman squad took first place and the junior varsity/varsity squad took second place at the Wentzville tournament. Both teams qualified for the national competition.
Pipkin staff receives instructional grants
Dec. 9, 2008
Collaborative efforts by Pipkin Middle School teachers to provide differentiated reading instruction to all students resulted in more than $11,200 in grants being awarded to the school recently.
With differentiated instruction, teachers use various teaching strategies and materials to meet individual students’ needs. Teachers also make themselves aware of their students’ learning styles and provide learning experiences that include each style. Data shows students’ reading levels are increasing at Pipkin.
The grants were awarded by Library Grants, Foundation for Springfield Public Schools and Walmart.
CHS, PHS named to ‘U.S. News’ bronze medal list
Dec. 5, 2008
Springfield’s Central and Parkview high schools are among only 36 Missouri public high schools to make the “U.S. News and World Report” bronze medal list of schools recognized for significantly outperforming state education standards.
Bronze medal schools were selected for their ability to ensure all their students are well served, using state proficiency standards as benchmarks. Bronze medal schools perform better than statistically expected in reading and math for the average student in the state. In addition, their least-advantaged students perform better than average for similar students in the state.
This is the second straight year Central has been named a bronze medal school by “U.S. News & World Report.” It is Parkview’s first time on the list.
“We are ecstatic about the award,” said Parkview principal Chance Wistrom. “The Parkview community takes a lot of pride in encouraging learning and development of all our students. This is a wonderful recognition of those efforts. I can’t say enough about the Parkview staff, students and Viking nation.”
Central principal Ron Snodgrass added that consecutive bronze awards for his school reflects “the hard work and dedicated efforts of all the staff at Central High School and a student body that has embraced efforts to succeed and achieve at a high level.”
The two Springfield schools are among 1,321 public high schools in 48 states awarded bronze medals by the magazine. Another 504 schools earned silver medals and 100 more schools – those with the highest college readiness index scores - received gold medals.
The study analyzed more than 21,000 public high schools.
Tournament of champions tickets on sale Dec. 8
Dec. 5, 2008
Reserved tickets for the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 8. Presented by the Chevy Dealers of the Ozarks, the 25th annual tournament will feature senior point guard John Wall from Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C. Wall is ranked the number one high school player in the nation by Rivals.com. The tournament is Jan. 15-17 at JQH Arena at Missouri State University. Tickets can be purchased at the JQH box office or by calling 836-7678.
Two district principals nominated by peers
Dec. 5, 2008
The Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals – Springfield district – has nominated principals Dr. Jason Anderson of Campbell Elementary School and Stephanie Young of Truman Elementary School as this year’s Distinguished Principal and Exemplary New Principal, respectively.
Both will be recognized at the MAESP spring conference at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, March 14-17. Anderson is now in the running to be named Missouri’s Distinguished Elementary School Principal and advance to the national competition.
Hillcrest hosts annual career day, college fair
Dec. 5, 2008
The Hillcrest High School A+ program will host its annual career day, job showcase and college fair from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 19 at the school. About 50 members of the Springfield workforce will be on hand to discuss careers, the employment outlook, educational requirements, job training duties and professional expectations.
Hillcrest will host eight local companies at the job showcase. The companies will display their products and discuss career opportunities for students. Eight local colleges and trade schools will participate in the college fair. For more information call Jennifer Bishop at 523-8055.
Twain staff biggest givers in United Way campaign
Dec. 4, 2008
For the third straight year, employees of Mark Twain Elementary School made the largest contribution per person to Springfield Public Schools’ United Way campaign. On Friday, Dec. 5, Superintendent Norm Ridder will recognize the staff for their generosity during an assembly which begins about 1:50 p.m.
Ridder will present school principal Janell Bagwell and her staff with a traveling trophy awarded each year to the school with the highest per person contribution to United Way. Twain staff contributed an average of $87.79 per person this year for a total donation of $3,862.
Central High School and Pipkin Middle School also earned donation honors for the third year in a row. Central staff made the largest contribution among all five high schools by donating $4,887. Pipkin donated $4,051, the most among district middle schools.
District-wide, employees contributed $73,287 to United Way during the 2008-2009 campaign, which ran from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
Shady Dell preschoolers get a lesson in giving
Dec. 2, 2008
The Thanksgiving holiday has passed, but preschoolers at Shady Dell Early Childhood Center are still practicing its meaning. On Wednesday, Dec. 3, those students will have a “day of giving” for Springfield military veterans, and specifically, a local soldier on leave from Iraq.
Army Sgt. David J. Jackson is home for two weeks to visit his family and friends. He is the parent of a Wonder Years’ preschooler at Shady Dell, and the husband of a Wonder Years’ teacher.
“Having this day of giving will allow students to begin to understand that Sgt. Jackson is a real person who does extraordinary things,” said Shari Brown-Balla, who organized the event.
As part of the “day of giving,” students will make winter-themed cards to send to soldiers in Iraq and will perform three patriotic songs. Following an 11 a.m. presentation, lunch will be served for the visiting veterans and for Jackson’s family.
Fifth-grade students introduced to future school
Dec. 2, 2008
Fifth-grade students who will attend Reed Middle School next year will travel to Reed on Tuesday, Dec. 9, to become familiar with their future school.
The visit is made possible by a grant from Community Foundation of the Ozarks. The grant offers fifth-grade students at Reed’s four feeder schools - Bowerman, Robberson, Watkins and Williams elementary schools - the chance four times a year to visit Reed and become accustomed to their future school.
The program includes a mentoring partnership between fifth-graders and Reed students that will carry over to next year. The Dec. 9 visit begins about 9 a.m.
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